Robert L. Stivers

Robert L. Stivers (born 1940) is an American theologian, environmentalist, and Professor Emeritus of Ethics at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, known for his early works of environmental ethics and sustainable development. and as "long-time advocate of Presbyterian ecojustice concerns."

Biography Born in 1940 in Cincinnati, Stivers graduated from Yale University, and served as Officer in the US Navy. Afterwards he continued his studies and obtained his M. Div. from the Union Theological Seminary in 1969, along with a Travelling Fellowship. In 1973 he obtained his PhD from Columbia University.

After graduation in 1973 Stivers joined the Pacific Lutheran University, where he served as teacher for 37 years at the Department of Religion. After some years as associate professor of religion, he was appointed Professor of Religion. At his retirement in 2009 he was appointed Professor Emeritus of Ethics.

In the 1970s and 1980s Stivers wrote two book The Sustainable Society: Ethics and Economic Growth. (1976), and Hunger Technology and Limits to Growth (1984), in which he commented the 1972 publication The Limits to Growth.

Work The Sustainable Society, 1976 In his 1976 book, entitled The Sustainable Society: Ethics and Economic Growth, Stivers describes the advocates of economic growth in his days and their critics. As a theologian his main focus is on the ethical aspects, and not so much on the scientific data behind the theories.

In his days Stivers' work was one of several work exploring ethics in economics and society. Other notable works were Amartya Sen's On Ethics and Economics from 1987, and Robert R. Chambers' Political Theory and Societal Ethics from 1992.

Aim of the study In a 1979 review of The Sustainable Society in the Review of Religious Research Stivers gave a summary of the work and its aim:

"The "limits to growth debate" has opened several new and potentially creative avenues for research and policy. This study explores one of these avenues, the vision of The Sustainable Society - a vision of an economy sustainable indefinitely in terms of resources and population, a new political system, and a new ethic. The third dimension, the new ethic, is the focus of attention. The need for visions is discussed, a theological foundation for the new ethic is suggested and six guidelines are derived. The guidelines provide the basis for critical and constructive comments on present and future social arrangements. The study concludes with an outline of the most significant implications for social and religious research."

In this review Stivers explained that the implications of The Sustainable Society are dramatic:

"As for public policy, steps to encourage durability, recycling, and conservation should be taken immediately. We may not have the luxury of waiting until the price systems make these activities attractive. For the longer range, assuming that technological innovations do not extend limits indefinitely, conservation now makes sense."

Context Kubo (1977) described the context of The Sustainable Society, as follows:

"When economic growth becomes the primary social goal, the needs of people and of nature are neglected. Growth must not be the ultimate goal but the means of fulfilling men's needs by equitable distribution of its benefits and by preserving a livable environment for them. The debate between undifferentiated growth and differentiated growth is academic if the futurists are correct in asserting that there are limits to growth because there are limits to the world's natural resources. But some are more sanguine; they feel that technological advances will be able to cope with the problems of the future, create new resources, increase the food supply, and clean up the environment. These advocates of growth see no reason to be alarmed and press on, full steam ahead. The author sides with the futurists and opts for differentiated growth..."

Equilibrium economy and sustainable society In the late 1970s the concept of the "sustainable society" was developed in the works of Dennis C. Pirages (1977) and James C. Coomer (1979) Stivers preceded them in using the phrase "sustainable society."

About the "equilibrium economy" or "steady-state economy" Stivers further argued:

"...it would be an economy in which population and annual product would be (1) sustainable indefinitely without sudden and uncontrollable collapse and (2) capable of meeting the basic material needs of all people. Such an economy would necessarily be in equilibrium with basic ecological support systems and would minimize..."

According to Professor of Urban Design and Sustainability Stephen M. Wheeler (2013) Stivers didn't coined the term "sustainable society," but a 1974 conference of the World Council of Churches issued that concept. Stivers did publish the first book with the term "sustainable" in the title.

Zero Population Growth and Zero Economic Growth Another remarkable aspect of The Sustainable Society, was that Stivers advocated zero population growth, a condition of demographic balance where the number of people in a specified population neither grows nor declines, considered as a social aim by some.

In doing so Stivers followed a trend set by Paul Ehrlich and Barry Commoner. But Stivers also argued for zero economic growth.

In those days Ian Barbour came to a similar conclusion on this matter, and stated that "only a major change in attitudes and values, a new definition of good life, could permanently alter the burden we place on global resources."

Further research One of Stivers' conclusions is, that more research is needed in n broad field for many different participants. In his 1979 review he explained:

"At the most general level, considerably more research is necessary in the three main dimensions of The Sustainable Society. For example, very little work has been done on the implications of the equilibrium economy. What sort of economic institutions will be required? How could we manage long-range sustainability? What will be the role of the price mechanism? What economic incentives might we develop to encourage durability and recycling?"

Selected publications Stivers, R. 1976. The Sustainable Society: Ethics and Economic Growth. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. Stivers, Robert L. Hunger Technology and Limits to Growth. Augsburg Publishing House, 1984. Stivers, Robert L. Reformed faith and economics. Univ Pr of Amer, 1989. Robert L. Stivers. Christian Ethics: A Case Method Approach, Orbis Books, 1994 Martin-Schramm, James B., and Robert L. Stivers. Christian Environmental Ethics: A Case Method Approach. (2003).

Articles, a selection Robert L. Stivers. "Deciding on a Christian Life Style," Christian Century, December 17, 1980, pp. 1244-1288. Robert L. Stivers. "Globalization and the Environment," Presbyterian Mission Agency, 2003.